Postdocs and Research Engineers

Postdocs and Research Engineers

Job description

The Delft Blockchain Lab (DBL) of Delft of University of Technology invites applicants for postdoc and research engineer positions in all technological, application-oriented, and societal aspects of blockchain technology. Contract duration will be one year.

DBL carries out three research tracks: core blockchain technology and engineering, blockchain applications, and societal aspects of the blockchain.

In the first track, DBL will design and implement a complete software stack for trust in the internet. For this purpose, DBL is interested in many computer science topics that are relevant for blockchain, e.g., consensus protocols, blockchain-based markets, modeling trust, verifying smart contracts, databases and security.

In blockchain applications, DBL interested in the incorporating of blockchain technology into all technical domains.

In the third track, DBL wants to study ethical aspects of blockchain technology.

DBL is looking for talented and ambitious blockchain enthusiasts. Their responsibilities include:

• (postdocs) Conducting research in the core technology, applications, or societal aspects of blockchain technology

• (research engineers) Developing, engineering and experimenting with new blockchain solutions and applications;

Specifications

Requirements

Applicants for a postdoc position must have a PhD degree in a relevant area, and a proven track record of research excellence.

Applicants for a research engineer position must have an MSc degree in a relevant area, and proven programming skills.

For both types of positions, applicants must have the ambition to strengthen and expand the research in blockchain (technology) of DBL, a team player mentality, and good communication and social skills.

Conditions of employment

Fixed-term contract: one year or more.

TU Delft offers a customisable compensation package, a discount for health insurance and sport memberships, and a monthly work costs contribution. Flexiblework schedules can be arranged. An International Children’s Centre offers childcare and an international primary school. Dual Career Services offers support toaccompanying partners. Salary and benefits are in accordance with the Collective Labour Agreement for Dutch Universities.

Department

Delft Blockchain-lab

DBL has been established in 2017, and is funded by the Executive Board of the university as a strategic investment in research and valorization in blockchain technology. DBL involves researchers in the Faculties of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS), Technology, Policy and Management (TPM), and Applied Sciences (AS) of TU Delft.

The Delft Blockchain Lab is one of the largest blockchain labs in Europe, combining the work of 8 professors. Its mission is to lay the foundation for a long-term research line in blockchain and trust in the Internet.

DBL actively pursues collaborations with partners in society and industry, and outreach to the general public. For instance, it collaborates with the Port of Rotterdam, the Ministry of the Interior, ING Bank, and the Authority Financial Markets. Similarly as DBL, these are all members of the Dutch Blockchain Coalition (https://www.dutchdigitaldelta.nl/blockchain), which has its home base on the campus of TU Delft.

The director of DBL is Prof. Dick Epema and its scientific leader is Dr. Johan Pouwelse, both of the Distributed Systems (DS) Group of the Faculty EEMCS. The research on blockchain technology of DBL strongly builds on more than a decade of research and design in peer-to-peer systems and distributed accounting systems.

The research of DBL has a strong experimental flavor, validating the proposed new concepts by means of implementation and deployment in prototypes that are used in the real world. DBL has produced several world-first innovations such as a fully scalable blockchain architecture and a decentralized blockchain-regulated market, and it has replaced proof-of-work with trust.